Cutter and tool grinding machine



April 22, 1941. c. H. AMIDON' 2,239,639

CUTTER AND TOOL GRINDING MAC/EINE v Filed March 23, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wmmwatm'- April 22, 1941. c; H. AMlDoN 2,239,639

l CUTTER AND TOOL @BINDING MACHINE med umn 2s, 194 s sheets-snm 2 I 3mm April 22, 1941. c.` H. AMlDoN CUTTER' ND TOOL GRINDING MACHINE med umn 2a,I 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet I5 HL E5 HHM/00N April 22, 1941. c. H. AMnnoNlv CUTTER AND TOOL GRINDING MAOHINB 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 2. v 6 .all H V .1 m r. 5 2 m R .H ...J 1| lllll lr 4 Ill .IlIIIIIIIIIUHHIHHHIIIHUH n' n .n m f w /V /////f/ v 2 m O u A B4 .l n B ..10 l w o QI .w m A\.| 1 Il MHH EHHHL E5 HHM/DUN April 2z, 1941.

c. H. AMlpoN GUTTER AND TOOL GRINDING MACHINE vFiled .March 25, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 5 u 21 ze 25 -zl 2o IZ 51 7 '4 54 y) 63 -Ffg' I llllllll 7G B2. 77 7B a mm H. H 5 E L R W E an enlarged scale.'

Patented Apta 22, 1941 *UNITED STATES PATENT or-I-ica A caracas i CUTTER. AND TOOL GRINDING MACHINE Charles H. Amidon. Worcester, Mass., assigner to Norton Company,

tion of Massachusetts Application Much z s, 1940, seria No. 325.495

' z calms. (c1. 51-95) The inventionrelates to grinding machines,

and more particularly to a cutter and tool grinds vide an adjustable brake mechanism whereby.

the free movement of thel table may'be readily retarded when desired. Another object of the invention is to provide .a transversely movable wheel slide which serves as a support for a vertically-movable, singularly-adjustable grinding wheel.' AA further object of the invention is to provideA a counterbalance mechanism for the vertically adjustable grinding wheel whereby the effect of the counterbalance weight is distributed uniformly about the grinding wheel support. Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter. v

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts. yas will be exemplifled in the structure to be hereinafter described. and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings. in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of the mechanical-features of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a front Velevation of the improved cutl ter-and tool grinding machine;

Fig.v 2 is a right-hand end elevation of the cutter and tool grinding machine;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken approximately on the Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view. on a. reduced scale, taken 'approximately on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; y c

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view. on an enlarged scale, taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; v

Fig. 6 is a iragmentary cross-sectional view, on taken approximately on the une s-c or Fig. 5,'snowxng the table brake mechanism; K n

Fig. l is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, on

an enlarged scale, taken approximately on the porting centers Il and 3l,-respectiveiy. Thesen.

Worcester, Mass.,'a corporaline 1--1. of Fig. 5 through the speedreduction unit; v Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on aA reduced scale, taken approximately on the line l--l of Fig. 4, showing the counterbalance mechanism; and

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal` sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through one of the table dogs.

A cutter and tool grinding machine has been illustrated in the drawings having a base I0 which supports a longitudinally reciprocable work supporting table II. The work supporting table II is preferably supported by anti-friction ways s0 thatv it may be readily traversed longitudinally without undue effort on the part ofthe operator. 'The table II is preferably supported by a pair of spaced rows of anti-friction ballsl I2 and I3. The individual balls I2 and I3 are spaced from each other by means of a flexible cage mechanism which spaces the balls lengthwise relative to the base during the operation of the machine. The row of balls I2 are supported lby a V-shaped groove Il which is formed in the upper surface'of a steel strip I5 which is fixed within the base I0, The row of balls I3 are supported in a V-shaped groove I8 formed in a 1 steel strip I1 which is fixedly supported in the base Il. A V-shaped groove I8 formed in a. steel strip I which is fixedly mountedon the under side of the table II serves as a V-way to guide the table II in a straight line path as it is traversed longitudinally. A plane flat way 26 is rformed on a strip 2| which is fastened tothe under side of the table IIl and engages the row of balls I2 and serves as a flat way to support the table II during its longitudinal traversing lifting movement of the rack bar 25 and the table Il when the table is traversed longitudi- 4 The table II servefas a support for a swivel table ll which in turn serves as a support for a headstock 3| and a footstock 32. The headstock 3i and footstock 22 are provided with work supters 33 and 34 serve as supports for a work piece, such as a milling cutter or the like, for a grinding operation. The swivel table 35 is provided with a graduated scale 35 (Fig. 1) which serves to facilitate angular adiustment' of the swivel table when desired.

In the grinding of cutters, such as milling cutters or other similar edge tools, they are usually mounted on centers and a tooth rest is provided to guide the cutting edge as the table is traversed longitudinally to traverse the cutting edge along the operative face of a grinding wheel. Due to the anti-friction ways provided in the present machine, the table Il may be traversed longitudinally without any appreciable exertion on the part of the operator. The table may be traversed by grasping the footstock and pushing or pulling the table in the desired direction, if desired. or it may be traversed manually by means of a table traversing mechanism to be hereinafter described. This table traversing mechanism may comprise a rotatable sleeve 45 which is journalied in a bearing 4| mounted in xed relation with the base I0. A gear 42 is keyed to an inner reduced end portion of the sleeve 45. A manually operable hand wheel 43 is formed integral with the outer end of the sleeve 45 andv serves to transmit a rotary motion through the sleeve to the gear 42 to cause a longitudinal movement of the rack bar 25 and the work supporting table Il. This mechanism above described produces' a one to one motion, that is, one rotation of the hand lwheel 43 produces one complete rotation of the gear 42.

In order to provide a slow table movement for certain grinding operations, a manually opera-ble hand wheel 44 is keyed on the outer end of a rotatable shaft 45. The shaft 45 is the input shaft of a speed reducing unit 45 (Figs. 5 and 7) The speed reduction unit 46 is rthe well-known Heliocentric speed reduction unit manufactured by Universal Gear Corporation of Indianapolis, Indiana. 'Ihe driven or input shaft 45 car-ries a pair of eccentrics 41 and 45 (Fig. 5). A rotatable output or driven shaft 45 is flxedly mounted .to a rotatable plunger holder 55 which travels Within a stationary internalgear or rack member which is preferably divided into two parts, namely -the internal annular racks 5l and 52. 'I'he plunger holder 55 travels wirthin the stationary racks 5| and 52 at the rate of one 4Q direction will be transmitted through the Hf-m0- rack tooth for each rotation of lthe input shaft 45. 'Ihe plunger holder 55 is slotted radially' and carries a plurality of reciprocable plungers 53 and 54 which are arranged to work in and out of the .teeth of the stationary racks 5| and 52. 'I'he racks 5| and 52 are keyed tothe casing and have the general appearance of an internal ring gear but with definitely different tooth shapes, the tteeth of the racks 5| and 52 being substantially wedge-shaped. Due to the working contact between the arrow-pointed plungers 55 and 54 and the teeth of the racks 5| and 52, respectively, a combination of sliding and rolling wedge action is obtained, forcing rotation with a minimum friction lto the plunger holder 55 and the output or driven shaft 45. 'I'he input eccentrics 41 and v45 force the plungers out under load.

A pair of retracting rings 55 and 55 ride in notches A single Heliocentric" unit or set of plungers of the working parts, a Universal Heliocentric reducer is employed, having fthe two eocentrics as illustrated and described above, each of which actuates a set of plungers and in operative enrotation of the output or driven shaft 45 is transmitted Ato rotate a gear 65.

`The gear 65 meshes with a gear 6| which is xedly mounted on the inner end of a shaft 62. The shaft 52 is journaled in a suitable bearing 63 -which is xedly mounted relative to the base I0. A reduced cylindrical end portion 54 is formed integral with the shaft 62. The reduced portion 64 of the shaft 52 extends l'through a central aperture within the sleeve 45 and hand wheel (i3. A nut 65 is screw threaded onto the outer end of the portion 54.l A friction disk 56 is keyed to the inner end of xthe reduced portion 54 of the shaft 62- and is interposed between a shoulder on the shaft 62 and the left-hand end face -of the gear 42 (Fig. 5). When the nut 55 is loosened, a rotary motion of the hand wheel 44 will be transmitted through .the mechanism above described to rotate the shaft 52 and its reduced end portion 54 but no motion will be transmitted to the gear 42.

If it is .desired to transmit a slow traversing movement to the table vfthe nut 65 is tightened -to lock the shaft 62 through the friction collar 66 .to the gear 42 so that a rotary motion of Ithe shaft 62 will be transmitted through the friction collar 65 to rotate the gear 42 and thus move the rack 25 and .the table longitudinally. A rotary motion of the hand wheel 44 in either centric speed reducing unit 45 to rotate the shaftl 49, .the gear 55, the gear 5I, and the shaft 62 which transmits a slow rotary motion through -the friction collar 5I, gear 42, and rack bar 25 to produce a slow longitudinal traversing movement of the table l I.

Due vto the ease of movement of the .table Il produced by the anti-friction ways above described, i-t is desirable to provide means to retard the longitudinal movement of the table for certain types of grinding operations. This may be accomplished by providing a suitable manually adjustable brake mechanism to retard the manual traversing movement of the hand wheels 43 and 44, respectively, so as Ito produce a retarded, slow, uniform movement of the table y Il. As illustrated in the drawings, a brake is provided to retard the rotation of the gear 42. The-gear 42 is provided with an integral hub 15. The hub 15 is surrounded by a pair of brake shoes 1| and 12 (Fig. 6). The brake shoes 1| and 12 are -provided with -brake lining surfaces 13 and 14, respectively, which are formed to mate with and engage the peripheral surface of the hub 1l bf .the gear 42. The brake shoes 1| and 12 are rpivotally supported by a stud 15 which is mounted in xed relation with the base l5.

In order to produce a braking action upon the gear 42. the brake shoes 1| and 12 are clamped into frictional engagement with the hub 15 with .the desired pressure. The brake shoes Il and 12 are provided with downwardly extending arms 15 and 11, respectively. A .stud 15 rpasses through a clearance aperture formed in the member 11' and is xedly connected by means of a stud 19 with the depending projection 18 of the brake shoe 1| (Fig. r6). The right-hand end of the stud 18 is provided with a .threaded portion 80 which meshes with or engages a manually oper. able knurled nut 8|.. A spacing sleeve 83 surrounds :the stud 18 and is interposed between the depending projection 11 of the brake shoe -12 and the left-hand end face of the nut 0| (Fig.

6). It will be readily apparent from the foregoing disclosure that when the nut 8| is tightened, the depending projections 16 and 11 are moved toward each other to produce a similar movement of the brake shoes 1| and 12 to clamp the brake lining 13 and 14 into engagement with the peripheral surface of the hub 10 to produce the desired friction .therebetween and thus to retard rotation of the'traversing gear 42 and the longitudinal movement oi.' the table as desired.

ing mechanism as desired. The nut 8| projects through a clearance hole in the end wallof the machine base I so tha-tits knurled head projects outside'th'e base i0 so that it is readily accessible for adjustments.

The longitudinal movement of the table may be adjustably limited by means of a pair of adjustable, table dogs 85 and 86 which are adjustably supported by means o! a T-slot 81 extending longitudinally along the front edge of the table The dogs 85 and 86 are. arranged to engage a xed stop abutment 86 which is xedly mounted on the frontof Ithe machine base. Due

to the ease of movement of .the table produced by the anti-friction table ways, it is desirable to provide a yieldable means for stopping the endwise movement of the table I I in case it is desired to grind up to and adjacent to -a shoulder on a cutter or work piece being ground. It is accordingly desirable to provide a yielding device on each of the dogs 85 and 86. These dogs are identical in construction, consequently the details of.dog 85 only Ahave been illustrated (Fig. 2)` The dog 85 supports a slidably mounted plunger 89 which is slidably keyed by means ofa key 90 within an aperture 9| formed within the dog ,85. The plunger 89 is provided with a central .threaded aperture which meshes with or is'engaged by an adjustable screw 92 .to the end of which is fixed a knurled adjusting head 93.

A compression spring 94 surroundsl aA portion of the screw 92 and Vis interposed between a shoulder formed at the left-hand end ofthe aperture 9| (Fig. 2) and the end of? the plunger 89. By adjusting the screw 92, the compression of the spring 94 may be adjusted as desired, thus varying'the cushioning effects of the dog as the table is moved longitudinally to the end of its traversing stroke. It will be readily apparent from the foregoing description that when the table is traversed longitudinally, this longitudinal movement continues until the plungers 89 on dogs 85 and 88 engage .the stop abutments 88, and due to the yieldable plungers 89 carried by each o f ioned against the compression of the springs 94 vso as to stop the table without setting up undue shocks and vibrations in the machine.

In order to attain one object of the invention, a rotatable grinding wheel is provided which is supported on a transversely movable slide and is so arranged that it may be adjusted vertically and angularly relative to the slide. As illustrated in the drawings, aA transversely movableA wheel slide |00 is supported for a transverse movement on lthe base |0 byy a V-way |0| and a ilat way |02 which mate with correspondingly shaped ways on the upper surface of the base I0.

The wheel slide |00 is provided with a feeding mechanism comprising a rotatable cross feed screw |03 which is rotatably journalled in a bearing |04 formed in the base I0. The screw |03 meshes with or engages a nut |05 (Fig. 3) which is xedly mounted .on the wheel slide 00. 'I'he outer end of the feed screw |03 is provided with a manually operable feed wheel |06 by means of which the feed screw |03 may be rotated to transmit a transverse feeding movement to the wheel slide |00.

` and ||2 carried by the Wheel slide |00. A

spiral gear ||3 is flxedly mounted to rotate with the shaft |09 andmeshes with a spiral gear (not shown) which is mounted on the lower end of a vertically arranged shaft ||4.- The shaft l|4 projects vertically above the rear portion of the wheel slide |00 and supports at its upperend a manually operable feed wheel 5 which is arranged to rotate in a horizntal plane to transmit a transverse feeding'movement to the wheel slide 00. It will be readily apparent from the foregoing disclosure that the wheel slide |00 may be fed transversely either from the usual operating station in front of the machine base I0 or from an operating station adjacent to the rear of the machine if desired, depending upon .the

nature of the work being ground.y

The wheel slide |00 is formed with a vertically 'I arranged, cylindrically shaped portion which exslide |00 is provided with a'vertically arranged cylindrical bore ||1 which serves'as a bearing support for a vertically movable column ||8. The column ||8 and bore ||1 are of a relatively large diameter to provide an adequate bearing surface to facilitate vertical adjustment of the grinding wheel assembly.

'I'he column ||8 supports a swivel head ||9 at its upp'er end. The swivel head ||9 is provided with spindle bearings |20 and |2| which rotatably support a wheel spindle |22. The wheel spindle |22 supports a grinding'wheel |23 and the dogs and 86 the table movement lscush- 75 a grinding wheel |24 at opposite ends thereof. A driving pulley |25 is carried by the spindle |22. The pulley |25 is preferably of a V-groove type and is connected `by means of a V-belt |26 with a multiple V-groove pulley |21 which is mounted on a motor shaft |28 carried by an electric motor |29. The motor |29 is supported by means4 of a bracket |30 at the lower end of the column 8. The pulley |21 is ypreferably a -multi-diameter V-groove pulley to facilitate a change of speed of the grinding wheel. As. illustrated in Fig. 4,V the pulley |21 may be removed and reversed so` the machine.

that the large diameter groove is alignedwith the V-belt |26 to rotate the Wheel spindle |22 and the grinding wheels |23 and |24 at a faster speed when desired.

In order that the wheel spindle |22 may be raised and lowered as desired to position the grinding wheels |23 and |24 in the desired relationship with the work piece 'being ground, an elevating mechanism is provided for manually raisingand lowering the column H8. The column ||8 is provided with a rack bar |35 which meshes with a gear |36 which ls keyed to a rotatable shaft |31. The shaft |31 also supports a worm gear |38 which meshes with a worm |39 which is rotatably supported in bearings |40 and |4| which are carried by the housing |42. The worm |39 is slidably splined to a horizontally extending rotatable shaft |43 which is supported by bearings |44, |45 and |46 in the base I0 of A manually operable hand wheel |41 is mounted on the forward end of the shaft |43 which projects from the front of the machine base I0. Byl rotation of the hand wheel 41, a rotary motion is transmitted through the shaft |43 to rotate the worm |39, the worm gear |38, fthe shaft |31, the gear |36, to produce a vertical movement of the rack bar |35 to raise or lowe'r the column ||8 to position the grinding wheel as desired.

To facilitatea vertical adjustment of the column 4| |8-from an operating station adjacent to the rear of the machine, a spiral gear |48 is keyed to the shaft |43 adjacent to the bearing |45. The gear |48 lmeshes with a spiral gear |49 which is carried by a horizontally extending rotatable shaft |50, The shaft |50 projects from the side face of the rear base of the machine and is provided on its outer end with a manually operable hand wheel |5|. By means of the sliding splined connection between the shaft |43 and the worm |39, a verticalV adjustment of the column ||8 may be made in any position of the wheel slide |00.

It'is desirable to provide a counterbalance mechanism which will facilitatevertical adjustment of the column ||8. A counterbalance mechanism is provided in which the effective weight ofthe counterbalance will be distributed uniformly about the periphery of the column ||8 so that the column ||8 may be freely raised and lowered without cramping the same during its vertical adjustment. As illustrated in the drawings, a counterbalance ring (Figs. 4 and 8) is provided which is in the form of an annular ring which surrounds the column ||8. It is desirable to provide a plurality of flexible connections between the counterbalance ring |55 and the column ||8 and to support the same on a fixed part of the wheel slide |00 so that the counterbalance mechanism always remains in the same relative position in any position of the cross slide. The counterbalance ring |55 is supported by a plurality of flexible wires or cables |56, |51 and |58. One end of each of these cables is xedly mounted to the counterbalance ring |55. The cables pass over idler pulleys |59, and I6I, respectively, which are in turn supported by brackets |62, |63 and |64 which are symmetrically arranged and are flxedly supported on the downwardly. extending portion of the member ||6. The other ends of the flexible cables |56, |51 and |58 are connepted to a flanged member |68 (Fig. 4) which is flxedly mounted on the lower end of the column H8. The points of attachment of the cables |56, |51 and |58 are at three symmetrically arranged points around the periphery of the flange |68 so that the weight of .the counterbalance ring |65 is distributed uniformly around the column H8, thus preventing any tendency to cramp the column during its vertical movement. The counterbalance weight |55 may be of any desired size but is preferably of a weight sufficient to substantially equal the weight of the column ||8 and the parts supported thereby so that the column may be readily adjusted vertically without undue effort on the part of the operator.

vA clamping mechanism is provided for locking the swivel head ||9 in the desired adjusted position relative to the column ||8. This mechanism includes a clamping plunger |10 which isv supported by the swivel head H9. A pivotally mounted rock arm is supported by a stud |12 which is in turn supported by brackets |13 projecting inwardly within the swivel head ||9. An

- adjusting screw |14 carried by the swivel head |19 is screw threaded through the wall of the head |I9 and engages the upper end of the rock arm |1|. When the head ||9 has been adjusted to the desired position, the screw |14 may be tightened to rock the rock arm |1| in a clockwise direction (Fig. 4) to force the binder plunger |10 toward the left (Fig. 4) to bind the swivel head ||9 and lock it in a fixed position relative to the vertically movable column ||8.

The operation of the cutter and tool grinding machine will be readily apparent from the foregoing disclosure. A work piece, such as a milling cutter or the like, is mounted on the work supporting centers 33 and 34'. The column ||8 is then adjusted vertically to position the grinding wheel |23 or the grinding wheel |24 in the desired adjusted position relative to the work piece or cutting edge to be ground, after which the grinding operation may be started by traversing the Work table longitudinally to pass the work piece across the operative face of the grinding wheel and at the same time to transversely adjust the grinding wheel slide |00 to feed the grinding wheel toward the work axis to grind the work piece or cutting edge to the requiredextent. The table Il, as above described, may be traversed. manually at either a comparatively fast rate. of speed or at a slow uniform rate by means of the manually operable mechanisms abovev described and, if desired, for certain types of grinding the manually adjustable brake mechanism may be adjusted to produce a desired and predetermined drag on the table to retard the free movement of the table and thus produce a uniform, controlled traversing movement of the Work piece relative to the grinding wheel.

It will be readily apparent from the foregoing disclosure that by providing a transversely movable grinding wheel slide which supports a vertically-adjustable, angularly-adjustable grinding wheel mounting, the grinding wheel assembly may be adjusted to any desired position for a grinding operation without producing any substantial overhang of the parts or mechanisms supported by the wheel slide.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention apparatus in which the various objects hereinabove set forth/together with many thoroughly practiel advantages are successfully achieved. As many possible embodiments'may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herelnbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a grinding machine having a base and a longitudinally movable work table, a transversely movable wl'ieel slide, a `feeding mechanism to move said slide transversely, a vertically arranged cylindrical bore in said slide, a. vertically movable, and angularly adjustable column y in said bore, a rotatable grinding wheel mounted on the upper end of said column, an electric motor mounted on the lower end of said column, driving connections between said motor and said grinding wheel, a manually operable mechanism to adjust said column vertically in any position of said slide. and a counterbalance mechanism including a counterbalance ring surrounding said column, a plurality of idler pulleys supported on said slide and symmetrically arranged about said column, and a plurality of iiexible connections which pass over said idlers and are connected at one end to thecounterbalance ring and at the other end to the lower end of said column.

2. In a grinding machine having a base, a rotatable grinding wheel, a vertically adjustable column to support said wheel, a manually operable adjusting mechanism to adjust said column vertically, and a counterbalance mechanism for said column and grinding wheel including a ringshaped weight. and a plurality of symmetrically arranged flexible connections between said weight and said column whereby the eiect of the counterbalance is distributed uniformly about said column to facilitate adjustment of the column and grinding wheel.

CHARLES H. AMIDON.` 

